Macro Selection over varying chains [Device 1]
Evening All,
Newbie here and I am trying to achieve something slightly out of my reach.
I am looking to control Marcos in Ableton 11.
In my Live set I have a collection of chains. CSS would say these chains are in device 1.
Clips in the session view have automation data linked to the chain selection tool. When I trigger a clip the automation data automatically selects the desired chain.
What I would like to do with my controller, is control the macros associated with that chain when they are triggers in the session view.
If you have a look at the image provided you can see a small snapshot of what I am talking about.
Device 1 & 2 – I am aware how to control the first row of Macros on here using the Macro Device Parameter Mapping. What I would like to achieve is to control the second group of Macros in Device 1 9 (aptly highlighted “device to control”).
I am aware of the chain targeting option in the device selection menu in CSS but the problem with that is its important that the chain number is constantly changing depending on the clip selection.
I am thinking what I am looking to achieve might be doable with a modifier but I have no idea where to start.
If you have an idea please let me know 🙂
Hi,
I’m new to CSS as well (also new to Ableton, tbh) and wanted to take on your request as a challenge. I found a solution that remaps knobs to the parameters of the device activated via clip automation.
The concept is, when you turn a knob, the script loops through the available chains and checks which one is active. The active chain is the one activated via your clip automation. When it has found an active chain, it will send velocity data from the Listener to the selected parameter in that chain.
!!! Something of note: I used the following tutorial to replicate your Live Set. In this tutorial the On/Off State of a Device Chain is mapped to the automation that selects the Chains (bullet points 7 to 9 in the tutorial). This might be needed for the described reaction to work.
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000727359-Using-the-chain-…
This is how I set up the reaction:
REACTION
LISTENERS:
Select the knob you want to use. I’ll call it “Knob A” in this example.
ACTION BLOCKS:
ACTION BLOCK 1:
LOOP:
Set this to “Chains”.
If you need the script to go through the chains of a specific track and device that isn’t the first device of the first track, you’ll have to adjust these settings in the upward pointing hand (see included images). The settings in this menu vary depending on what option it relates to. In this case, you could change Track Type to “Selected Track”, so that if you were to select another track with different device chains, it will loop through those device chains.
Keep in mind, if you make any adjustments to any of these parameters, you will also need to adjust them in the following conditions and actions, because as default it will always check device 1 of track 1 first.
For now, let’s just stay with the default settings. So now, it will loop through all the Device Chains of Device 1 in Track 1.
CONDITIONS:
Select: “Live Object Model > Device > All Devices > is active (bool) > (Bool) is equal to > True”
At this stage, you will need to make an adjustment at that upward pointing hand because it doesn’t just need to check 1 Chain, it needs to check all Chains that we’ll loop through.
I’ve added 2 screenshots as explanation:
– In “Condition Settings 1” you see the options that appear after clicking on the hand symbol. On the bottom is a check box that you’ll need to activate.
– In “Condition Settings 2” you can see the new setting options that have appeared. At “Chain Number” you’ll need to press the arrow and select “Iteration Number” (as shown in the picture).
Now, if the script found an Active Device Chain, it will continue through to the Actions.
ACTIONS:
Select: “Live Object Model > Device Parameter > set value”
As “Action Parameter” select:
“MIDI Controller > Current Velocity Values > Knob A’s latest velocity value”
Here too you’ll need to adjust the settings at the gray hand symbol, the same way as done with the Condition (activate the “Target device chain” checkbox and then set “Iteration Number” as your “Chain Number”). At the bottom of these settings, you’ll also need to set the number for the parameter you want to manipulate.
Because of the Condition we’ve set, only the Iteration Number of the Active Chain will have come through to the Actions. That’s why we now can use that Iteration Number to affect a parameter in that chain. In the “Last Picture” you’ll see I’ve set mine to Parameter 3 which, for a reason still unknown to me, changes Macro 2. Setting Parameter to 1 doesn’t seem to change anything for me.
—-
I initially also wanted the Chain, activated by launching a Clip, to display on screen in the Device View but I haven’t found a way to do that, yet.
I didn’t know you could automate chain selection via clips. Because I had to replicate your issue to understand how to solve it, I’ve now learned a lot about Ableton and CSS. Thank You for presenting this challenge!
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